Workers will be referred for health assessments if they are sick for more than four weeks under a new scheme to be launched by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Under the Health and Work Service scheme, assessments will carried out by occupational specialists to draw up a plan and timetable to get the patient back to work quickly.
Employees will be referred by a GP or their employer but the assessments are not compulsory.
Up to 960,000 workers in Britain were on sick leave for more than a month each year between October 2010 and September 2013, according to new figures released by the DWP.
Employers face a yearly bill of around £9 billion for sick pay and associated costs, with individuals missing out on £4 billion a year in lost earnings.
The DWP believes the scheme, to be launched in Scotland, England, and Wales, will save employers £70 million a year and cut the time people spend off work by 20% to 40%.
The Work and Pensions minister Mike Penning said: "More than 130 million days a year are lost to sickness absence in Great Britain, which has a substantial impact on workers, employers and taxpayers.
"As part of the Government's long-term economic plan, we are taking action to getting people back into work.
"This is a triple-win. It will mean more people with a job, reduced cost for business, and a more financially secure future for Britain."
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/h...eks.1391940217
This needs to be rigorously enforced within the Public Sector (particularly Police Forces) where serial lead swinging is endemic
Quote Reply
Originally Posted by Dedworth
and what will it cost to run this scheme 
, and i take it the employers are not paying for it 
to do the 224 days before people start attacking police officers who do a dangerous job compared to people sat behind a desk all day whining 
for doing physical and dangerous jobs while MP's are sat behind a desk or more likely on their holidays on a good wage , at taxpayer expense 
